Council of Europe has called on governments to be extremely vigilant against counterfeit or falsified medicines and medical products during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the council, states can rely on the MEDICRIME Convention to safeguard public health and target the criminal behaviour of those who, like criminal networks, take advantage of the loopholes in regulatory systems.
In an opinion published today, the MEDICRIME Committee warns of the increased risk, in these times of shortage, of the sale of falsified medical products.
It also makes a number of recommendations:
- Online platforms offering medical products to the public health system or to individuals should be monitored and states should work together to break the supply chain of falsified medical products that are traded between their territories
- Staff should be assigned to hot spots to detect and stop the trafficking of falsified medical products...
Full text GMPnews.Net